Bessarion station

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Bessarion
TTC - Line 4 - Sheppard line.svg
Bessarion Station Platform, November 2021.jpg
Location731 Sheppard Avenue East,
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°46′09″N 79°22′35″W / 43.76917°N 79.37639°W / 43.76917; -79.37639Coordinates: 43°46′09″N 79°22′35″W / 43.76917°N 79.37639°W / 43.76917; -79.37639
PlatformsCentre platform
Tracks2
Connections
  •  85  Sheppard East
  •  385 Symbol ksiezyc.svg  Sheppard East
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Disabled accessYes
History
OpenedNovember 24, 2002 (2002-11-24)
Passengers
2018[1]2,990
Rank72 of 75
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
TTC - Line 4 - Sheppard line.svg Sheppard
toward Don Mills

Bessarion is a station on Line 4 Sheppard of the Toronto subway. Opened in 2002, it was consistently ranked the least-used station on the heavy-rail portion of the subway system (serving an average of 2,500 passengers per weekday between 2008 and 2018),[2][3] until being displaced by Downsview Park station in 2018.[4] Wi-Fi service is available at this station.[5]

History[]

Bessarion opened on November 24, 2002, along with the other stations of the Sheppard line.[6][7] Due to budget overruns that came up on several occasions during construction, there were suggestions to remove the station from the project for a cost savings of $34 million.[8][9] In October 1998, it was decided that the station should be built, because it was in a prime redevelopment area and the station was an important selling feature for these proposed housing units pushed by Councillor David Shiner.[3][10]

When the site was excavated, the soil was found to be contaminated with various levels of hydrocarbons (likely from the former Canadian Tire service station on the site). This was removed and decontaminated during the construction of the subway station.[11]

Bessarion Community Centre under construction in May 2021, behind the station entrance

Upon opening, the area surrounding Bessarion station was the low rise residential neighbourhood of Bayview Village, big box stores and a Canadian Tire distribution centre.[12][13]

In the mid 2000s, the Sheppard subway was criticised as a 'white elephant', with ridership below expected levels.[14] TTC officials privately joked that "keeping ticket sellers awake is the biggest challenge amid the boredom that is Bessarion station".[15]

Since 2007, Concord Park Place, an 18-hectare (45-acre) condominium and townhouse complex has under construction by developer Concord Adex on a former Canadian Tire distribution centre adjacent to the station.[16] Upon completion, the development will have 20 residential towers with around 10,000 residents, 2 new schools and a community centre.[17] Early phases of the development (completed in the early 2010s) were criticised for being located far away from the station entrance, however Concord Adex notes that the development and the community centre will increase ridership at the station.[16][18] Other residential developments along Sheppard Avenue close to the station have also been proposed.[19][7]

Between 2008 and 2018, ridership at Bessarion increased by 3%, a small increase compared to a 14% rise in ridership on Line 4 Sheppard over the same period.[2] The station maintained roughly half the number of riders of Don Mills, the next busiest station on the line.[2]

Station description[]

Like all stations on the Sheppard line, Bessarion is fully accessible and has been since 2002, the year it opened. The main entrance on the south side of Sheppard Avenue is fully accessible, with elevator, escalator, and stair access to the concourse level, where another elevator connects to the subway platform level. The north entrance provides direct access to the concourse level only with stairs.[20]

The subway continues underground in a bored tunnel in both directions; east into Leslie and west to Bayview.

Architecture and art[]

The station was designed by URS Cole Sherman, with the station generally outfitted in tiles of cream and deep red.[21][22] The public art in the station,[23] titled Passing by Toronto artist Sylvie Belanger,[24] is a frieze of hands, feet, and backs of heads, which represent the users of the station. The images of feet appear on the concourse level, while the heads appear on the platform level. The images of hands appear along the stairs between the Sheppard Avenue north side entrance/exit and the concourse.[21][25]

  • Images of feet greet passengers at the concourse level

  • Back of heads at platform level

  • Feet and legs greet passengers at the concourse level

Surface connections[]

Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes

There are no off-street bus platforms at this station, and connecting service is available at the bus stops on Sheppard Avenue with a valid transfer.[20]

TTC routes serving the station include:

Route Name Additional information
85A Sheppard East Westbound to Sheppard–Yonge station and eastbound to Don Mills station
385 Blue Night service; westbound to Sheppard–Yonge station and eastbound to Meadowvale Road

Nearby landmarks[]

Nearby landmarks include the Ethennonnhawahstihnen' Park & the future Bessarion Community Centre (part of the Concord Park Place development), Bessarion Parkette, a Canadian Tire, Mark's Work Wearhouse and Mountain Equipment Co-op North York.

References[]

  1. ^ "Subway ridership, 2018" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019. This table shows the typical number of customer-trips made on each subway on an average weekday and the typical number of customers travelling to and from each station platform on an average weekday.
  2. ^ a b c "TTC station ridership - 2008 to 2018". Urban Toronto. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Eric Andrew-Gee (June 27, 2013). "Looking for Bessarion: TTC's least-used subway station goes viral". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  4. ^ Boisvert, Nick (October 15, 2018). "New subway service is transforming Vaughan, but not all stations are busy, TTC figures show". CBC News. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  5. ^ "OUR STATIONS – TCONNECT.ca". TCONNECT.ca. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  6. ^ Van Bastelaer, Sophie (November 19, 2016). "November 22, 2002: The Sheppard Subway Line opens its doors". Press Reader. Toronto Star. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Morrow, Adrian (November 16, 2012). "Lessons from Toronto's Sheppard subway line". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  8. ^ Moloney, Paul (October 6, 1998). "TTC Chair feels station threatened". Toronto Star. p. B3. Money is short because the subway line, originally budgeted at $875 million, has sustained cost overruns of up to $58 million
  9. ^ Moloney, Paul (October 29, 1998). "Subway station okayed". Toronto Star. TTC staff pointed out that scrapping Bessarion would save $34 million
  10. ^ Moloney, Paul (October 29, 1998). "Subway station okayed". Toronto Star. Bessarion, one of five stations, is located in a redevelopment area that city planners say could become home to thousands of residents and potential subway riders.
  11. ^ City of Toronto (July 2000). "Sheppard Subway – Bessarion Station Initiation of Civil Lawsuit to Recover Contamination Costs" (PDF). Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  12. ^ Morrow, Adrian (November 16, 2012). "Lessons from Toronto's Sheppard subway line". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  13. ^ "Still a subway to nowhere?". The Toronto Star. November 24, 2007. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  14. ^ McGran, Kevin (November 24, 2003). "Critics say few use "stubway"". Toronto Star. p. B7.
  15. ^ McGran, Kevin (November 24, 2003). "Anniversary for Sheppard line". Toronto Star. p. B1. even though some TTC officials privately joke that keeping ticket sellers awake is the biggest challenge amid the boredom that is Bessarion station, they call the Sheppard subway line a success.
  16. ^ a b Bansal, Parul (May 20, 2019). "How Bessarion, one of Toronto's least-used subway stations, offers lessons for avoiding 'bad planning'". CBC News. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  17. ^ "Concord Park Place community". Concord Park Place. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  18. ^ Landau, Jack (April 26, 2021). "Construction Progresses on Seasons and Saisons at Concord Park Place | UrbanToronto". urbantoronto.ca. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  19. ^ Debergh, Ryan (August 8, 2019). "12-Storey Mid-Rise Proposed Near Bessarion Subway Station | UrbanToronto". urbantoronto.ca. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Bessarion Station". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  21. ^ a b "The Sheppard Subway". Transit Toronto. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  22. ^ Ruckle, Chelsea. "The Gaze and the Glance in Transitional Spaces: Public Art in Toronto's Sheppard Line Stations" (PDF). Carleton University. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  23. ^ "Sylvie Belanger: cv". Artists. Robert Birch Gallery. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2015. PUBLIC COMMISSION: Bessarion Station, Toronto Subway, Can.
  24. ^ Donovan Vincent (August 19, 2011). "TTC art: What works, what doesn't". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 1, 2015. photographic works in the Bessarion station, titled "Passing," by artist Sylvie Belanger
  25. ^ Ruckle, Chelsea. "The Gaze and the Glance in Transitional Spaces: Public Art in Toronto's Sheppard Line Stations" (PDF). Carleton University. Retrieved February 1, 2022.

External links[]

Media related to Bessarion Station at Wikimedia Commons

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